As reported by University Herald, students attending the University of Florida are creating programs to prevent obesity for high school students as well as peers. This is part of a federal research and extension grant of $4.9 million that was officially awarded last week, as school officials announced. A study from America’s Health Rankings found that in the state of Florida, approximately 3.7 million adults are considered to be physically inactive and around 4 million adults are considered to be obese. [Read more...]

Owning a student ID might not be enough to allow people to vote in Tennessee. Beginning this week, voters in 10 states, among them Tennessee and Texas, are now required to present a valid photo ID before casting ballots. But students in Tennessee can’t use their student IDs. The Tennessee Senate State & Local Government Committee denied a bill that would have allowed people with valid photo ID issued by an official public institution of higher education to use it in order to vote.

However, gun owners can vote no matter what. Right now, there are six acceptable types of ID that voters in Tennessee can use at the polls: a federal government ID, a state government ID, a passport, a driver’s license, a handgun permit, and a military ID. [Read more...]

A couple of Texas colleges are now offering bachelor’s degrees for no more than $15,000.

In 2011, the Texas governor, Rick Perry, gave a challenge to Texas universities and schools to create inexpensive options to ever-more-costly degree programs, and that included a bachelor’s degree that would cost less than $10,000 in tuition for the entire four years. The majority of schools said that it couldn’t be achieved.

They could be right, but luckily two universities accepted the challenge, and that means Texans will have a chance to see whether it’s even possible for a student to get a reputable, useful degree without taking on lifelong loan burdens. [Read more...]

Students at a public university in California where meningitis broke out last autumn will be given a vaccine that is not yet approved by the FDA for use in the USA, public health officials were quoted as saying last week.

School officials in the most population-dense state in the union had tried to get approval from the government to use the vaccine that is approved in Europe, a vaccine that inoculates against a particular strain of this dangerous disease that has afflicted four students UC Santa Barbara. [Read more...]

Northwestern University football team players, under the tutelage of a former quarterback, have mostly all signed a petition trying to get safeguards from a solid law passed some time ago, the National Labor Relations Act. What that would mean is that they would be given official recognition as employees, and not just as college athletes.

Ramogi Human, president of the College Athlete Players Association, said that most of the team have signed cards that support a petition to be given union representation and labor rights through CAPA. [Read more...]

This will lend support to the development and research of enhanced simulation technology to improve the educational process associated with healthcare. A computer engineer and scientist has been appointed to the position.

The interim dean of the nursing college said that she is grateful to the Florida Hospital for its incredible generosity. [Read more...]

The college football world swirled with rumors for the better part of weeks as to who would replace Mac Brown as the Longhorns’ head coach, with many believing the University of Texas could entice legendary coach Nick Saban away from Alabama. In the end, Texas chose another big name, coming to terms with Charlie Strong, the head coach of the Louisville Cardinals. The signing was historic as Strong will be Texas’ first African-American head coach, and will hopefully bring some defensive toughness to a team that sorely needs it. [Read more...]

Campus safety is an enormous concern for students. However, several lawsuits filed by college students against UC Berkeley, the University of Southern California and Occidental College have called campus officials’ diligence regarding crime reporting into question. A new bill may soon force California colleges and universities to report all incidents of sexual violence and hate crimes to law enforcement.

Bill AB 1433, sponsored by California Assemblyman Mike Gatto and introduced January 6th, would make officials at California State colleges and universities responsible for informing the local police or sheriff’s department of allegations of violent crimes unless the victim specifically disallows it. The penalty for failing to report these crimes would render the college liable for negligence. [Read more...]